“Harder dammit, harder! Fail to appease this thing and she may very well crush you all in an instant!” King Rizo hissed at the knights posted around the giantess’ feet. Armed guards were pushing terrified civilians towards the various bits of scaffolding, forcing them to replace any gaps in the working line that were caused by a laborer growing too nauseous to continue working. King Rizo held a handkerchief to his face, unsuccessfully attempting to keep his own senses free from the musky stench wafting across the shallow gully. Rizo waved a hand, summoning his guard captain over to speak.
“My lord.”
“The titan has given us a new decree. We are to send a team into the mouth of her boot to begin cleaning that as well.” He said solemnly, not reacting to the horrified look on the captain’s face.
“My lord, the air. It is already incredibly toxic. Sending someone inside… that would be…”
“Enough,” he spat, “to fail to heed her orders may very well doom each and every one of us to a life beneath her wretched feet. There is no military force on the continent that could stand up to her now. At least this way… we may condemn the right people.” The captain looked up at his king, confused by what he was implying.
“Go, clear every cell in the city. Anyone who is capable of completing the the task the giantess has demanded of us will be granted their freedom. Hell, I’ll make them a goddamn baron if they make it out alive.” The dutiful guard fled back towards the city gates to follow through on his majesty’s orders. King Rizo simply remained at the giantess’ feet, watching his people degrade themselves. Suddenly the beast’s right foot twitched slightly, knocking down the scaffolding that was supporting the various workers. Many laborers fell and were pinned beneath the rubble as bystanders rushed in to try and help. However, several laborers had been attempting to work against the giantess’ enormous toes and were now tightly pinned against the hot, sweaty flesh of the woman’s foot.
Having been working on the highest platform, one unfortunate citizen was currently pinned directly beneath the giantess’ second toe. The middle aged man tried desperately to free his body away from the sticky gunk that was holding his body in place, but found himself far too weak to do so.
“Please, help! Don’t leave me here!” He shouted hoarsely. Having been scrubbing the titan’s feet for nearly an hour now and breathing in the fumes rolling directly off of her toes, the poor man’s throat was weak and broken. “Please…please!” He tried to shout as panic quickly set in. He knew that if he wasn't freed soon, he would find himself stuck in this position when the giantess placed the fetid boot back onto her foot. And then this place would become his tomb.
“Steel yourselves. Today you face the most difficult task you have ever undertaken. However, should you find success in your mission, you shall be granted an immediate pardon for any crimes against the crown you have committed. No exceptions.” Guard captain Varus dismounted his horse as the nearly ninety convicted criminals were led outside the city walls. For some, this was the first time they had left the city in years, for others, it was the first time they had seen even the sun in just as long. Confusion spread through their ranks as they were led out into the fields beyond the gates. Hushed murmurs turned into confused and angry shouts as they were finally led past the titanic woman napping in the afternoon sun.
Varus kept leading the group up the hill, towards where the massive overturned boot was spilling toxic air onto the hillside. He struggled to keep his eyes off of the massive woman. She seemed so peaceful as she slumbered, beautiful even, if you ignored the chaotic devastation down around her feet. However, Varus remained on edge. King Rizo had instilled a deep fear in his heart that was inspiring a deep sense of duty in the heart of the seasoned soldier.
“What the fuck is this?” A man shouted from a few rows back. Varus let out a heavy sigh and brought the criminal cadre directly before the opening of the boot at the top of the hill. Just outside the mouth of the stinking cavern, two soldiers were busy hammering a large metal stake into the ground. The top of the stake was bent into a small loop where a metal chain was secured through the eye of the loop. One end of the chain was cooled lazily on the ground outside of the giantess’ boot, while the other end appeared to terminate somewhere deep inside.
“This is the task set out for us by the deity you see here. The titaness has delayed the utter destruction of our entire nation, for the sake of our subjugation and humiliation.” Varus explained. “Your task today is to clean the inside of the giantess’ boot to her satisfaction. Fail, and life as we know it will cease to exist.”
Just then, another soldier came stumbling out of the massive leather boot. The man immediately fell to the ground, coughing, gasping and vomiting as he tried to expel the wretched stink from his lungs. Wrapped around his chest, was the other end of the chain. Varus nodded in the soldiers direction and two of his men raced over to help the struggling soldier to clear the area and to continue pulling more chain slack out of the boot.
“Fuck this, that’s fucking poisonous.” A criminal shouted, crossing his arms as the potent stench started to catch in his own throat. Varus looked sternly upon the crowd of gathered convicts. Truly he pitied them. Despite whatever crimes they were guilty of, what they were about to be forced into was truly inhumane. But with the lives of every single Parvurian citizen on the line, he could not afford to be soft.
“A lot is being demanded of you today. But it is in fact a demand. There are no choices here today. Either you will give your all to save your people, or you will be given to amuse the giantess.” Varus said coldly, pointing up the hill towards where the giantess’ second boot stood upright. As Varus finished his threat, a team of soldiers stepped forward with spears out to begin pushing the first group of terrified criminals forward. There was some resistance, but the end of the chain was quickly connected to the shackles linking the line of seven convicts together.
“Do what you can to conserve your breath.” Varus advised as each of the convicts were handed a rough steel brush. “I wish you good fortune…” Moments later, Varus’ men began pulling on the opposite end of the chain, causing the row of convicts to be pulled deeper inside the vessel.
“Hmmmm?” Rose let out a soft groan as she sat up, stirring from her nap as slight tickles on her feet caused her to twitch awake. She wiped a small bit of drool from her chin as she groggily regained consciousness once more. It had been a long time since she had last been able to simply spend some time relaxing, with all the training and studying she had dedicated herself to the past several years, it felt nice to just take in the scenery.
Her attention was quickly pulled downwards where a small crowd of tiny people were swarming around her feet. She chuckled and let out a half sigh as she scrunched her toes playful near the laboring citizens. She found it just a little bit strange that they seemed to have somewhat of an obsessive fascination with her feet, but the resulting foot rub that she was gaining certainly didn’t bother the giantess and so she opted to allow them continue massaging her.
“Having fun down there?” She asked, looking down at a small group of tinies who had managed to crawl into the space between her big and second toe. The giantess shot them a warm smile as she slowly wiggled her toes, taking precautions not to accidentally squish anyone as she attempted to play with the eager little masseurs. However, as her toes gently rocked back and forth, the tiny people quickly started to scramble away, disappearing through her toes over the other side of her foot. The giantess let out a disappointed sigh and said, “Yea, I understand.”
Despite how kind and respectful these miniature people were, Rose felt just utterly disconnected from these people. It seemed that their vast size difference was a truly insurmountable barrier for any sort of relationship to form.
“”Having fun down there?” The giantess’ voice boomed, startling the rescue party that was busy attempting to saw the trapped man free from the thick oozing sweat that bound him to the crevice beneath the massive woman’s toes. Progress on cutting oddly viscous liquid was moving slowly and the unfortunate soul stuck in the crevice was beginning to drift in and out of consciousness. As the rescue team looked up at the face of the now awake titan, they all felt a wave of sheer panic consume their souls as they came to the realization that she was staring directly at them as she spoke.
They all stood frozen in fear, unable to move lest they raise the ire of the impossibly powerful being. Suddenly the giantess began flexing her toes, causing them to struggle to retain their balance as the viscous liquid oozed from her pores and clung to their tiny bodies, threatening to trap them in a similarly dire situation.
“I’m so sorry” One terrified worker apologized to the man trapped beneath the massive toes as he quickly began to scramble back down the wrinkled sole of the enormous foot. The unfortunate laborer who had become stuck under the giantess’ toes watched, dejected, as the last hope for his salvation retreated away. It seemed that his fate was truly bound to the greasy clutches of this deity’s sweaty toes.
Rose watched as an iron cauldron, the size of a large coffee mug was arduously hoisted onto a large wooden cart as the citizens of Parvus began wheeling a fresh bowl of stew towards her. After checking to be sure she wouldn’t accidentally squash any over her tiny foot worshipers, Rose pulled her feet together to sit with an open lap, pressing her soles together.
“Ah, it smells wonderful.” Rose said, graciously bowing her head as she plucked the cauldron of stew off the cart, to avoid dragging this process out any longer than it needed to be. She knew that a great deal of effort as well as a surplus of the city’s resources likely went into preparing this “feast” for her, but having not eaten in multiple days now Rose was eager to consume anything she could get her hands on. With a single gulp, the entirety of the feast had disappeared down her throat.
“I… uhh. Sorry, it was just, really good.” Rose said to the gathered tinies populating the fields around her. Embarrassment began to well up inside her once more as she looked into the cauldron to find it completely empty. Her eyes darted around festival grounds as she realized that she wasn’t seeing other pots of food being prepared. It seemed that Rose had inadvertently consumed all of the food intended for the various festival goers here before her. The young huntress’ cheeks flushed red as she began to imagine the silent judgment coming from her tiny hosts.
“Uhhhh, oh no!” Rose said, quickly lifting her boots from the nearby fields, trying to quickly clear away the small gathered crowds that appeared to be fascinated by her footwear. “I must’ve overslept! I’m going to be late.” Rose lied, taking a moment to make sure no one was climbing over her feet as she stuffed them inside of her boots. She was certain that she had just ruined this festival and likely soured whatever relationship she had cultivated by rescuing the royal family.
“Thank you so much for the wonderful festival. And remember, whenever things are most dire, HNTR will be here to defend the light!” Rose said with a flourish of her cloak, as she activated the transceiver device on her wrist. Then in a flash of light, the titanic woman was gone just as quickly as she had arrived, leaving the populace of the city of Parvus alone once again.
“Run! RUUUUUUUUN!”
Chaos erupted from the gathered civilians around the giantess’ enormous body. Now that the god woman was awake once more, the royal army was busy trying to provide her with the massive cauldron of stew that they had been tirelessly preparing for hours now. Everyone watched with horror as the giantess grabbed the boiling iron cauldron with her bare hands and lifted it to her mouth. With a single gulp, countless gallons of food, months worth of supplies, were all banished into the depths of her enormous stomach in an instant.
“Sorry, it was just really good.” She said, a cruel malevolence dripping from her voice. Several tense moments of silence passed as her massive eyes swept over the terrified Parvurian citizens. Then, without warning the massive woman sprung into action. All sense of order collapsed, sending guards, civilians and criminals all sprinting in different directions. Varus could only watch in stunned disbelief with which the enormous creature moved. In mere seconds the giantess had lifted her enormous boots from the ground, snapping easily the chains they had constructed to pull unwilling laborers inside the fetid vessel and surely dooming any unfortunate souls still trapped within. Every ounce of hope and pride that Varus had built up over his long career vanished in an instant as he watched the woman put her boots back onto her foot.
Still trapped against the massive woman’s foot, Loren the laborer watched in horror as he was lifted high into the air and aimed directly at the open mouth of the massive leather boot. Having been trapped for hours with the thick, pungent fumes wafting around his head, the poor man no longer had the capability to scream. And thus he was plunged silently inside of the boot without even an ounce of regard for his well being.
Once the giantess’ foot had finally settled back within the leather boot, Loren found himself in a strange new world. The space around him was completely devoid of any light making it impossible to see, however, the immense pressure from the woman’s large toes kept him certain of where he was. Additionally, while he had been breathing the potent smell of her feet for several hours now, the atmosphere wafting around the tiny man’s head was an entirely different problem now. The oppressive heat and thick, sour miasma made every breath feel as if he were drowning.
“How long would he survive here?” He wondered, choking on his breath. Or perhaps that wasn't the right question to be asking. Through the loud ominous sound caused by the gigantic toes grinding together, Loren could swear that he was hearing screaming voices from elsewhere in the stinking boot. “Perhaps,” he thought, “death came to greet me long ago. For surely this is hell.” The thought rattled around Loren’s mind as he slowly descended into madness deep within the leather boot of Rose Cassidy, the newest huntress in the HNTR organization.
“Well, excellent work on your first mission, hunter.” The woman across the table from Rose said. She had just finished up her mission report, accounting for all the details of her foray into the tiny nation. The clerical hunter simply chuckled when she saw the trepidation in Rose’s face upon trying to explain that the residents of the village she was sent to protect were actually microbeings. Evidently this was a somewhat common occurrence across the universe, although the chances of encountering one such civilization on your first mission was a bit of a rarity in and of itself. Rose was given fair congratulations for managing to spend an entire week amongst the tiny folk without accidentally destroying their cities or wiping out vast swaths of their planet. Though, Rose had to do her best to hide her embarrassment as she recalled the new butt imprinted lake that she accidentally created. And the young huntress thought it would be best not to mention the obsessive foot worship she received on planet, lest her employer decide that she was some sort of deviant.
“Congrats on officially joining the ranks, Rose. You’ll have a couple days before you get your next assignment so get some rest and enjoy it before your workload gets hectic.”
Yes, of course. Thank you m’am.” Rose said, standing up and giving the clerk a quick bow before rushing out of the room. While she would’ve loved to savor the enjoyment having just accomplished her life’s dream, unfortunately something was keeping her distracted throughout the entire interview. The young hunter retreated into her quarters and locked the door behind her before rushing over to her bed and taking a seat.
“You can’t be serious.” She muttered under her breath, reaching down to undo the laces on her boot. About halfway through her mission report, Rose began to notice an irritating itch on her foot. Her temper began to rise as the realization slowly set in that some of her miniscule worshipers had taken it upon themselves to join her on the return trip to HNTR headquarters. “Oh damn it all to hell!” She shouted, pulling her sweaty foot from the boot to find a single Parvurian locked in the pit beneath her big toe as well as another seven linked together in a chain stuck to her arch.
“Did you seriously stow away to follow me back to headquarters? I mean, I know you guys love feet and all that, but this is just dangerous. ” She asked sternly, peeling all eight of her little worshipers from the sole of her foot. Rose studied the tiny people closely, their tiny squeaks barely registering to her as noise, let alone as a comprehensible language. She let out a heavy sigh as she considered all of her options. She couldn’t just take the tinies home. Traveling via portal would require clearance from someone well above her paygrade. And if people were to find out that she had accidentally abducted some helpless off-worlders on her very first mission she would surely face some serious consequences. She may even lose her official title of Hunter.
“Damn, I guess it’s the right thing to do. I appreciate you guys wanting to thank me and all that, but I can’t just let you live in my boots forever. I’ll need to get you all home.” She said with a deep concern in her voice. However, Rose did understand that she couldn’t truly blame these tiny beings for their actions. She had allowed them to familiarize themselves with her feet, giving them praise for their worship of her. It was no surprise that some brazen souls from among their ranks had decided to take a leap of faith and throw themselves into her stuffy boots. Rose let out a heavy sigh, weaving the chain of tiny passengers in between her toes, leaving two miniature bodies in each of the gaps between her toes.
“I guess there’s no harm in letting you enjoy these last few hours in my boot.”
Mercifully the shaking came to an end, giving his throbbing head a bit of reprieve, despite the giantess’ sweaty toes coiling tightly around him. After the movement stopped, Loaren was suddenly pulled from the depths of the giantess’ boot and granted a breath of the freshest air he had sampled in some time. Had he not been through the greatest physical ordeal of his entire life, Loren would’ve been absolutely terrified to find the giantess staring directly at him as she curled her foot up into her own lap.
“Did you seriously stow away to follow me back to headquarters?” The massive woman asked. The question caught Loren off guard. Was she seriously mad that he was here? Had she not deigned to capture him underfoot and force him to bask in the thick miasma of her sweaty foot.
“Wait! Was Rizo wrong about all of this? Was this whole ordeal a misunderstanding?” Loren thought to himself as he considered all of the interaction his people had with the giantess. By that point, it didn’t take long for the tiny man to realize that this wasn't some terrifying god queen sent to punish him for his sins. The reality was that Rizo was just a paranoid moron who had subjected his people to the giantess’ feet out of fear alone. Loren winced as two of the massive woman’s fingers came down to pluck him out from under her sweaty toe. Was this it? His salvation? Loren could only hope as the giantess brought him up to her eye, studying him with a curious intent. Moments later, the small man witnessed the woman’s other hand reach down to pluck something else from her foot. He was stunned to see that there was a small chain gang now dangling from her immense fingers.
“More victims of Rizo’s madness?” He thought to himself, still trying to catch his breath.
“Damn, I guess it’s the right thing to do. I appreciate you guys wanting to thank me and all that, but I can’t just let you live in my boots forever. I’ll need to get you all home.” The giantess’ voice boomed. It was clear that she wasn’t able to hear any of the Parvurians stuck to her foot, no doubt that their voices were all damaged by the quality of air present in her thick footwear. However, his heart was filled with hope once more when he learned that she intended to get them all back home to their lives.
“I guess there’s no harm in letting you enjoy these last few hours in my boot.”
“No!” Loren gasped hoarsely. However, the giantess could not hear his cries for mercy and he was left to watch as the woman began to wrap the shrunken prisoners around her toes. Their screams were horrifying as they were packed firmly into the gaps between her enormous toes once again. He didn’t envy those poor souls, in fact he pitied them quite a bit. Each of their tiny bodies were packed tightly into her toe gaps, smashing them into piles of rancid smelling gunk that accrued over a week of intense wear. Loren could only pray that his comrades in arms would survive against the woman’s toe jam until they made it home.
“Socks or no socks?” The massive woman asked, holding Loren aloft between two fingers.
“Please… please you have to hear me!” Loren shouted, but his cried fell upon deaf ears.
“Pft, who am I kidding. You guys go nuts for sweaty feet, don’t ya? Just understand that this is not a reward for your behavior.” The massive woman scolded, lowering Loren’s body down into the open mouth of her boot.
“NO, NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Loren screamed as he once again descended into the fetid boot. He wiggled with all of his might, as he was carried past the mouth of the leather shoe. Immediately the sour stink of feet penetrated his nostrils as he was set back down on the damp insole. Looking back towards the sky, he watched the giantess’ massive eye disappear from the opening only to be replaced with her smiling face.
“Better head towards the toes little guy. Wouldn’t wanna get crushed, would you? Besides, that’s where all the good stink is.” She asked before positioning her wiggling toes over the mouth of the boot. With his spirit crushed once again, Loren retreated towards the toe section of the boot. Quiet sobs escaped from the tortured man as the giantess’ toes once again wrapped around him. Once all was said and done, Loren was trapped once more in the gap between the woman’s big and second toes, only this time, rather than being stuck under foot, he was balled up between them, collapsed into a ball with the rest of her rancid toejam.
“There we go. Safe and secure.” Rose said, stomping her boots gently against the floor. She remained perfectly still for a moment, concentrating on the sensation of the tiny worshipers in between her toes.
“God, it's so freakin smelly in there.” She remarked, having caught another whiff of her feet while she was scolding her tiny passengers. Her mind drifted off towards the other Parvurian people as she stalked through the halls of headquarters to get herself a transport back to the tiny homeworld. If they were so obsessed with her feet, maybe she should just allow them to live out their fantasies under foot. After all, she would have countless missions ahead of her as a hunter. Maybe having tiny worshipers cleaning up her smelly feet would be a good thing.
“I should just put the whole dang kingdom in there.” Rose chuckled to herself at the ridiculous notion of putting a whole civilization in her dirty boot.